hiroshima mon amour (1958)
im going to keep this very brief, as hiroshima mon amour will be the first of a new in-depth type of article that i will be producing starting in the next few weeks. needless to say, hiroshima mon amour is perfectly apt as the first of these new, more analytical approaches to film criticism. more … Read more
advise & consent (1962)
advise and consent is very complex in its evaluation and exploration of american politics. as such the film feels incredibly authentic, and very honest an interpretation of what happens behind the scenes of national government. for its time the film manages to not only feel very fresh and bold, but almost nostalgic at the same … Read more
high plains drifter (1973)
the spritual and somewhat necessary follow-up to the dollars trilogy, clint eastwood’s first western as a director proves to be the most visually experimental film within his oeuvre. at times the film borders on the genre conventions of horror, with the depiction of the death of the character of ‘the marshall’ being incredibly grim and … Read more
casablanca (1942)
as an entity casablanca is much bigger than a film. it is a major part of hollywood history, and as such is incredibly hard to judge on its own merits. despite the relevence of such points, i have attempted to look at michael curtiz’s film in an objective manner, although i am not sure of … Read more
awaydays (2009)
the closing film of the bradford international film festival, awaydays from director pat holden and based upon the book by kevin sampson proved to be largely entertaining but ultimately rather disappointing. awaydays would at first appear to be a product of the subgenre of “the football hooligan film”, a subgenre which, for this viewer at … Read more
1001 apologies to thee…
you may have noticed the slight backlog of pending reviews on hope lies… at the moment (and indeed the new title), alas i am here to reassure thee that all will be well come the close of business on the day of mon. apologies wherein necessary, but i have been mucho busy(o?) at the bradford … Read more
fury (1936)
an old favourite, and a definitive product of the hollywood system that hollywood didnt want viewers to see, fritz lang’s first american film fury is as watchable as ever. the story of a man whom is wrongly arrested and subsequently believed to be unlawfully killed by the means of mob protest apparently came in reaction … Read more
personal services (1987)
in celebration of the career of terry jones, full time member of monty python and part time solo film-maker, the bradford international film festival ran a thread of his work, leading up to an evening of conversation with the man himself. the wind in the willows and eric the viking featured, along side personal services. … Read more
western union (1941)
more acute readers may be aware of a bit of a trend at the moment, alas it is purely coincidental. fritz lang’s penultimate foray into the world of the western was sold to me on the premise alone, in which former gunslinger vance shaw decides to turn himself straight by taking on the task of … Read more
the inheritors (2007)
a genuine delight, and the surprise of the bradford international film festival for this viewer. former photographer eugenio polgovsky has produced a film that is incredibly slight, yet somehow overwhelmingly cinematic at the same time. the film is largely silent, with only the diagetic sounds of the mexican villagers the film centers on posing as … Read more
